


Down Under the Sea

by rachelarcher



Series: The Walking Dead Drabbles [8]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Cute Kids, Cutesy, Lord, No Sex, Other, clousure, death is mentioned, for once, mermaids kind of, rick is hopless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:13:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26605786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachelarcher/pseuds/rachelarcher
Summary: Daryl and Rita work at an aquarium as mermaid divers teaching school groups about aquatic ecosystems. Daryl is there to pay for Merle’s rehab. Rita is there to pay for her sister Carol's divorce. As their worlds collide they meet Rick Grimes and his kids solace.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon & Carol Peletier, Daryl Dixon & Original Female Character(s), Daryl Dixon & Rick Grimes
Series: The Walking Dead Drabbles [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/859324
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Down Under the Sea

-/-

Rita Jean McMurtry was a strange bird. Daryl Dixon could and would admit that, for the last three years of him knowing her they’d defiantly had their share of what the fuck moments. She’d been sixteen and on her own in Miami. He’d been twenty four and watched his brother get hauled off to rehab. They met roughly eight weeks after that when a truck driver dropped her off near the swamp he called home. More or less threw her out of the cab when she refused to sleep with him. He’d helped her get back in contact with her older sister, only to discover that Carol was in a worse abusive relationship than the one either RJ or Carol had had with their own mother and father. And he’d learned that Merle’s rehab was going to cost money, and a lot of it. 

They’d both realized they needed steady income, and that wasn’t going to happen in Miami, so they headed for Georgia, hell - anywhere.

They ended up at Nautilus. An aquarium that doubled as a research station and housed all sorts of creatures. Both were good swimmers, and naturally talented with any animals and children, so over the course of a year they learned how to be Merfolk, and swim in the tanks - except the mako shark tank there was too much danger in either of them leaping into a tank full of Mako sharks. They also ended up talking to children a lot. Little girls always wanted their pictures taken with Ariel, and little boys liked to see the scars on Daryl where he’d battled Kraken and Sharks, or so the stories went.

-/-

She had her hair braided elaborately down her back, with shells and string and pearls woven into it. Daryl’s own hair was long these days, with less elaborate braiding. They were both in their basic swimsuits - for him it was tight speedos that he regretted, for her it was a pale peach bikini. Their tails were always the last thing to go on. “Hold still.” Jesus Rovia hissed, as he attempted to weave Daryl’s hair onto his crown like Carol had already done for RJ. “There we go - Aaron, Eric are you ready with the long tails.”

“Long tails.” Daryl grumbled, “Ah hate the long tails.”

“What are we swimming with the long tails for?” Rita asked.

“They look best with the school fish and coral reef tank. Which is where you two are today.” Jesus explained as he and Carol started working the mesh netting across their respective merfolks chest. Next came RJ’s elaborate pearl, starfish, and barnacle necklace that covered most of her bikini top, and was held in place by clear straps around her back. Then came the body scales - they were hard plastic material that both artist spent the greater part of an hour everyday glueing onto their merfolk. It took three hours (they started at four AM to be in the water by 7:30) for them to be ready, and another fifteen minutes or so for Aaron and Eric to bodily carry them to their entry portals. 

Carol had moved onto the underwater makeup for RJ when Eric popped his head in, “Tails?”

“Ten more minutes.” Jesus shooed him back out and looked at Daryl, “Time for some arm jewelry.” He took Daryl’s right arm, and slid three thick gold bands up it, and copied it on the left with only one thick gold band. “Remember, larger tails weigh more, so you need to take more breaths.” Then he moved to apply the fake gills on both sides of Daryl’s neck. “Don’t get stupid out there.”

“How old is our audience?” RJ asked as Carol applied the gills to her neck.

“Kindergarten first, then up through the years to high school. All local schools, all wealthy parents, make an impression.” Carol ordered, as she looked her over again, “I hope those braids hold up underwater.”

“Put the lube in ‘uhm.” Daryl suggested, which earned him a jab from RJ.

“Not to rush perfe-WOW!” Aaron blinked, “You two have outdone yourself. It is tail time, right?” Carol and Jesus nodded and moved to help. The tails were easily eleven to thirteen foot long, and these had the added issue of dorsal and torsal fins, as well as feeler-like noodles. RJ’s was a pale pink, with shimmering silver and gold running through it. Daryl’s was a sharp bright green with streaks of silver and gold dancing in layers over it. “Remember, these are the heaviest tails you swim in.” Aaron started.

“So take more trips to the top, we got it.” RJ said evenly. 

Each tail weighed well over fifty pounds, “Are these the cam ones?”

“Yes, you have the aquatic cameras in the dorsal fins.” Eric offered.

Once both were fully lubed and slid into their tails, the four artists went to work securing the tails. By seven AM the page overhead for all workers to be in position had already sounded twice. Aaron scooped up Daryl as Carol and Jesus held the door, Eric bridal carried RJ - the two men claimed all the mermaid carrying they did was their cardio for life - to the Coral Reef exhibit.

They made it to the backside just as the first little faces started to peer upward. “Ok, tube release.” Aaron grumbled, as he settled Daryl - head first into a thick glass pipe, before Daryl could object, the slight current of water running down the tube caught, and he literally shot forward, taking a big gulp of air as he went. 

“Oh, fuck you!” RJ hissed as Eric gave her much the same treatment.

The water whirled over them both as they were literally spat out in the bottom of the reef a good forty foot below the tanks surface. Eyeing the air bubbles to their left, they tested out their tails, swimming a slow arch to the front of the tank where they caught the attention of the class and parents alike. The thing about this sort of swimming, was it all mattered in the lungs. Daryl and RJ could both be under for a good six minutes, before anything bothered them, accounting for their tail weight and the fact both were unfamiliar with the dreaded MerFolk Tail #8, they wouldn’t stay as long as that. 

RJ pressed her palms against the glass making a little girl giggle, as she rushed to push her own palms to the glass, the children were always fun and inviting, even as school fish maneuvered around them. They’d learned when it came to the Reef Tank that six minutes was about fifteen cycles of the entire school fish population, so about cycle number eleven, both joined the fish, in their arch around the tank, only they moved higher where the school fish stayed low.

Breaching the surface to wave at adults who were loitering away from their kiddos, they both took a breath, and dived back down. The school group had moved up some, but now that Daryl and RJ were practically whizzing around the tank with the flounder the kids were watching with rapt interest, eyes never fleeing far from the twist and turns the pair were good at. 

Jesus called the art in motion under the water.

They called it freedom. 

By the time the first group of school kids made it to the open air part of the Reef Tank, Daryl had already pulled himself onto a rock, and was helping RJ up next to him, mainly because somewhere along the last twist her top had shifted, and he needed to fix it before any parents complained. Her braids had held up well enough under the water. “LOOK A MERMAID!” The excited little girl who’d pressed her palms to the tank cried out excited.

“Hello.” They both waved at the kids, and smiled warmly at the parents. 

The little girl was smaller than the other kids, maybe even younger. The teacher looked apologetic. “You're my daughters favorite sea creature. My son likes sharks though, do you swim with those?”

“Some sharks we do, those over there, not so much, we are on their food list.” RJ explained as she motioned to the Maco tank where an older boy was gazing over the glassy water surface. “Welcome to Nautilus, our home away from the Sea!” 

“Are you Ariel?” The little girl asked excitedly.

“Judith!” The man seemed even more embarrassed.

“No, my name's Star.” Her mermaid name, anyways, “But I know Ariel, just like Bastion.” She nudged Daryl, making him nod, “And she’s a lovely human now. Her father misses her though.” She offered sort of sadly.

The teacher smiled, “Can you tell us about the fish you were swimming with down there?”

“Tha clownfish ya know, ‘cause ‘ah Nemo.” Daryl spoke beside her, “Tha bright yellow ones with black eye ‘re called Butterfly fish.”

“The silver ones that glide, with the two whiskers are Angelfish.” Rita added. “There are many who live in the Coral Reef - if you look on the rocks in front of you there is a better list.” She offered to the teacher who nodded.

“Yer ‘ere ta learn about the Reef taday, right?” Daryl asked, making the kids nod, and lean forward, “Well, let’s tell uhm.” Daryl grabbed RJ’s ribs and lowered her into the water, then shimmied in himself, both swimming forward to hang over the railing, and drip on the wooden floor ahead of the tank. The kids moved forward to touch them, their skin rubbed down in a special underwater lubricant that kept them feeling slimy, and some rubbed their gills, others touched their hair, and cheekbones. 

“There are three types of reefs, and one often gets mistaken for an island. Barrier reefs, fringing reefs and atolls. An atoll is often called an island when it is really a reef.” She motioned below them, “Although man made this it is as close to the barrier reef as our human friends could get it.” 

“Why is it called a barrier reef?” One of the children asked, curious as he tiptoed forward.

“Any reef that is called a “barrier” reef gets its name because it protects the shallow waters along the shore from the open sea. That protection promotes the survival of many types of sea plant and animal life.” RJ explained, “Often MerFolk only visit the reefs to check on the life and vegetation.”

“Cos you protect the ocean?” The little girl, Judith asked.

Daryl tipped forward, so he could look into her little eyes, “We do.” He promised.

“That’s good Bastian.” The little girl beamed at him.

RJ grinned, “A coral reef isn’t one ‘thing’, it’s actually a community of life that lives and thrives in one location. Everything down there, is alive, and breathing, moving both with the currents in our tank, and with the natural flow of the school fish - school fish are what we were swimming with.”

“Star?” The boy who was older than the class, and obviously belonged to the teacher called her name, she looked up and waited. “What sharks do you swim with?”

“Tiger, nurse, reef, mostly non aggressive. In the ocean itself when we see a shark coming that isn’t friendly we find a place to hide.” Star winked at the kids as they ooooohed.

“So you’ve never been in there.” He pointed to the Mako tank.

“They don’t really like me and Bastian.” She responded, “We don’t taste good when they do bite us, we live mostly off kelp and algae.” The kids made ewwww noises, and Daryl smiled.

“Scientists have discovered that many parts of a coral reef can be harvested to make medications to treat cancers and other illnesses.” Daryl offered up the fact like it was gold, “So our reefs can help you squishy humans.” 

Judith laughed, whole body and so did her father. “We have to move on soon.” The teacher said sadly as he looked at another parent.

“Well, then take this fact with you - the Ocean out there.” She pointed out the window, “Is really good at sucking in all the bad things that are around us in the atmosphere. That makes the water a little sick, sometimes, and that sickness can stop our Reefs from getting the food they need in order to keep their own lives going. The more your climate, weather, changes out there, the more our reefs are affected.”

“Alright, kids, time to move on.” The blonde woman at the front urged them.

The male teacher, with Judith and his older son, had hung behind. “Look, thanks.” He said after a moment, both Daryl and RJ were hanging over the rails still.

“Wait, Judith!” RJ called, and looked at Daryl, “Take my crown off.”

“They will kill you.” Daryl hissed, but helped her fight it off, even as they both sunk under the water.

As she resurfaced she clambered onto the rail again, “I can’t make you a mermaid like me, but I can give you my most valuable crown. I wear a different one almost every day, but this is my favorite. Bastian gave it to me when he found me. See, we were lost in the ocean, without our families, but now we have each other.” She placed the dripping crown upon the little girl's head, and winked. Then she looked at Carl, “The big shark over there, the biggest is female, her name is Cruella. She bites anything that breaks the water’s surface.”

“Ah have it on good authority she likes hotdogs.” Daryl offered with a mischievous wink.

“Thanks, Bastian.” 

Judith was still clutching Star’s neck, as the man moved forward, “Thank you both, it was nice to meet you - Bastian! Star!”

“Come back again and you’ll learn more!” Daryl called after him.

“He was cute.” RJ teased, making Daryl shove her head under the water completely.

They made their rounds with eight more groups through the day, pausing only at lunch time to swim to the back of the tank for Carol to plant another crown on her head and give her massive stink eye about losing the first one, no matter how sweet the little girl was. And eat lunch, which had to be fast and something that wouldn’t endanger them while swimming. They slurped down their protein smoothies and about three gallons of water before resumberging. They spent the rest of the day swimming with the fish, aimlessly, unless kids pressed against the glass, mostly little little ones.

Around four the day’s school trips teetered down.

The aquarium stayed open until seven most nights, even when the Reef wasn’t getting action the other parts were, so Daryl had hauled himself onto the deck of the shipwreck that lived in the high end of the Reef Tank, and RJ had followed him, the pair ‘sunbathing’.

“They should do an exhibit just on us.” She grumbled, low.

“Yeah, and what else would be in it?” Daryl grumbled.

“A castle obviously.” She teased.

“STAR!” The little voice from that morning made them both jerk.

“Maybe they aren’t here, Jude?” The little boy's voice sounded sad, too.

“No, she said. Carl, she said.” The little girl all but screeched.

They both splashed into the water hard, then swam for the edge, their father Rick had just made it up to them, and he wore the expression of someone who’d been outsmarted. “Hello.” Daryl called, as they gracefully pumped their tails forward.

Both maneuvered to the railing, “Ariel got legs sometimes.” Carl grumbled.

“Do you?” Judith asked, tilting forward, RJ’s crown still atop her head.

“We do.” RJ nodded.

Rick still looked dubious, “What time do you normally get legs?” Rick asked, and realized how he sounded.

Daryl snorted. RJ blinked, “Uhm… when the moon is really high, so around nine?” She ventured, and gazed around to make sure no one had heard that particular lie. “Depends on how long it takes the magic to work.” 

“We gotta do magic.” Daryl agreed.

“Today woulda been my mommies birthday.” The little girl explained.

“Our mom died two years ago.” Carl added.

“Mermaids were her favorite…” Rick added.

The pair shared a look, “We could maybe get legs sooner than that.” Daryl admitted.

“Jude and Carl think if they could take you to their mom, you could carry a message to her.” Rick said after a long moment, his eyes unsure, “But their mom…”

RJ looked at Daryl, “Hey kiddos, lets go over here, I can show you some cool tiger fish.” She led them around the aquarium wall to a glass panel on the floor that showcased the tiger fish.

“Their mom killed herself.” Rick said after a beat, “Our youngest, Gracie, is only two and with my brother - Shane.” Rick explained, “She drowned, and they want you to carry a message to her, as merfolk.”

Daryl sighed, “We could maybe pull that off. The institute is closed Sunday after three. If I can get our team in on it, we could do it, I assume it's ocean swimming?”

Rick gave him a perplexed look, “Swamp.” 

“We have fins that work in murky water.” Daryl grumbled, “See if you can convince yer kids that our tails change in the water somehow, ‘nd ‘ah’ll see about the design team. Might be some cameras around ta see how we do in nature…”

“Ok.” Rick said evenly, “Why are you doing this?”

“She told ya man, lost in the ocean, found each other. You ‘nd yer kids are lost in the ocean, ya just need ta be found.” He whistled sharp, and brought RJ back with the kids, “Think we can help them out, but not in the dark.” 

She nodded, and smiled at the little ones, “Maybe you can swim with me, Jude?” She gave the little girl a wink.

“Oh, please?” Judith looked at her dad.

“If Sunday works out, yes.” Rick said with a head nod. “Now let's let them get back to work you two.”

They watched them walk away. “So?”

“Swamp, their momma killed ‘erself. All we gotta do is get Eric, Aaron, Carol and Jesus ta agree to tail us up in the murky water suits, drive us to the shoal where she ya know, then get us into the water.” Daryl didn’t look convinced. “They need…”

“Closure.” RJ said after a beat. “Like me bringing Carol here. And us paying for her divorce and Merle’s rehab?” Daryl nodded and the two slowly circled the tank.

-/-

Carol had been the first to agree, trailed by Eric. If they could go along and do a photoshoot it might even help the family. Jesus had caved after that, leaving Aaron as the stand alone - and the man had a valid point - MerFolk couldn’t just ride in a van, they would need tanks. So their major hangup on Saturday night ended with Jesus and Eric finally bringing the tank specialist Tara Chambler in on it, as well as the MerFolk program manager Glenn Rhee. Both were eager to help, and a special tank designed normally for bull sharks, was loaded into a cargo van, then filled with brackish water similar to the swamp.

“Were going, too.” Tara had declared, “And Maggie - since Maggie is a photographer.” They didn’t even argue, just sent Rick a message (the man had been smart enough to leave his number for the MerFolk at the gift shop, which wasn’t a request Beth, Maggie’s sister, often got so she’d kept it and passed it along - if anything the MerFolk tended to annoy adults who couldn’t believe in the fantasies of the deep) letting him know they were a go for Sunday at three.

They were pulled from the water at noon, and then the process to slide out of one tail, dry completely off, re-lube, and re-tail was more time consuming than they realized. These tails were more like alligator scales, both deep green, and made not to glide but grip. They were tighter on their thighs and down to their knees, and a new design from the creative mind of Denise and Dennis the twins who built and manufactured their tails as well as the Nautilus underwater wetsuits for regular divers. 

Eric carried RJ per their norm to the tank and settled her in, it wouldn’t be the most comfortable ride, ever, but Tara had been nice enough to put seats of soft foam, and back guards in. Then Aaron deposited Daryl, Carol and Jesus were riding in the cargo hold with the two decked out MerFolk, while Glenn drove his RAV4 behind them with Tara, Maggie, and Beth who’d tagged along at the last minute. They followed the directions that Siri gave them to the address Rick had sent, and soon enough found themselves in a murky hot swamp. As the van doors opened, Judith all but flung herself in, “Star!” 

“Hi honey.” RJ winked at Judith, and nodded to Rick who looked amazed that they’d showed up in full tails. 

Tara punched in a code, and the whole tank on a metal lift gate, rose and carefully slid out the back, before lowering to the ground. “Did you build that?” Rick asked the young woman, who nodded, “Just for this?” Another nod, as she beamed at him. “Oh.”

Carl had joined them and was looking down at Daryl, “Does it hurt being all smashed in that tank?”

“Sort of.” Daryl grumbled, and made grabby hands for Aaron who lifted him with practiced ease, and headed for the water. Eric copied suit with RJ, and settled her down in about a foot of water just like Daryl.

Maggie stepped forward with her camera, “Sorry, the institute is picky.” Rick just nodded and watched as she took a few shots of the pair, then RJ turned to look at Judith.

Gracie was toddling around Rick’s ankles. “We have to get our tails wet, but once we swim out and swim back up if it feels safe, and you're dad is ok with it, I’ll take you out with me and Bastian can take you're sister.”

“Are those you're real names? Or stage names?” Carl asked as he waded out to his knees in the water.

“Would it make you sad to know his names Daryl and mines Rita Jean, but they call me RJ?” She looked between Carl and Judith.

“I like it better.” Jude promised, “But at the ‘qurium yer Star.” She patted RJ’s face then looked at Daryl, “And yer Bastian - the MerQueen and MerKing of yer tanks!” 

“Right, to hide our identities.” Daryl winked at her.

The pair shimmied down the murky water, until they were deep enough to give their tails a test swim, once they’d made a lap or two around what they perceived to be the deeper part, the pair both found that there was a natural slow current - nothing like the rough currents in the tidal or tanks at Nautilus. They dunked under to see how well they could see in the water, and realized quickly it wasn’t far. Both surfaced and made their way back to the bank. “If it's safe, and you're safe, they can go.” Rick murmured, but Gracie wouldn’t let him go, so in the end it was Daryl holding Judith, and Carl hanging onto RJ. Maggie snapped pictures with a grin.

“You're kids are beautiful, I would love to do shots of them for free.” The young woman resumed her picture taking, even as Daryl and RJ stopped in the water, no doubt to talk to the kids. A few moments later they were headed back to shore, Eric and Aaron waded out to help Judith and Carl. 

“Is this where your mom is?” Daryl asked, softly.

Rick shook his head, and pointed a little ways up the banks, to a bridge. “Between the two beams.” 

The pair shared a look, then looked at the land teams, they got thumbs up from everyone, and Maggie took off along the bank to follow them. The whole group moved through the marsh and trees, with Aaron still holding Carl, and Eric still holding Judith, until they reached the support beam of the bridge on land. It was beautiful and terrifying, watching both of them surge up out of the water, and bend their bodies, to dive deep, in limited visibility, with alligators lurking around. “I got it.” Maggie whispered, Glenn nodded next to her, and checked his watch. The move wasn’t lost on Rick as the seconds seemed to tick by.

“They should have surfaced by now.” Eric broke the silence, at the five minute mark, “They aren’t… used to this water.” Aaron checked his own watch, and gave Eric a sharp look.

“They know what they are doing.” Jesus grumbled, “Ain’t never seen anyone swim that good, in this water.”

Rick could read what they were worried about, the tails were new to them, designed for this venture, and not tested in the right kind of water. His own panic was starting to rise when the pair broke the surface and took in lungfuls of air then immediately surged back down. “What are they doing?” Carl asked Aaron.

“They are after something.” Carol whispered, and looked at Rick.

“The car went down, the divers brought Lori up…” His voice was rough, “But her car…” 

Jesus sighed, “This isn’t their first treasure hunt. Last year our director Ezekiel outsourced them to do deep sea free diving over some known wreckages, they made him a buttload of money bringing up gold and silver, under each time over ten minutes, they had an added advantage of legs that time, though.” Jesus paused as the ripples danced on the water, and both were up and back down again. “They are strong, had to have been their whole life.”

This time when they broke the surface both were swimming toward the beach with the land.

“What’s in their mouths.” Carol asked, cocking her head to the side. She was the first one to her sister in the water, pulling RJ to the bank, while Rick had surged to help Daryl, they both spat out the contents of their mouths in the mud, before falling onto their backs and panting. Their chest heaving with effort, and their eyes bloodshot.

They’d stayed under too long. Between them, the necklace Lori kept hanging from her rearview, as well as a ziplock baggie from the glovebox with all their important things and her wedding rings in it. Rick tentatively looked at it, “You risked your lives for that?”

RJ sat up then and looked at the kids, Jude and Carl rushed to her side, and Glenn handed her Gracie, “You're momma wants you to be happy, healthy and safe. She misses you very much but she’s keeping her eyes on you, as a guardian angel, and now you’ve got me and Daryl to protect you, too. She sent us to you, because she knew you’d need a little magic to cope.” She brushed some hair from Jude’s face, and rubbed Carl’s cheek - it was eerily similar to Lori, “She misses you, darlings. And she knows someday she will see you again, but until then, keep her here.” She poked each of their hearts, “And make sure Gracie knows her.” She ruffled the little girl's head, then dropped back into the mud.

Daryl sat up, extended over her, and hugged them all three. “She didn’t wanna leave you babies, no momma ever does.” He glanced at Carol who had tears in her eyes, “But sometimes angels have to go home early.” He kissed their heads too, and dropped back on the murk.

Maggie looked down at them, “Why couldn’t I have guardian Mermaids when my mom died?” Beth grumbled, but smiled as both gave her an exasperated look, and Maggie hugged her.

“Thank you for going to see her.” Carl whispered as he looked at their dad, “See - I told you, magic. Now I bet they could swim with sharks and not get bit!” That made everyone laugh, the hardest of all was probably Daryl.

-/-

**Author's Note:**

> Any and all mistakes are mine. The characters by and large are not mine. This is a work of fiction, ect, ect, ect.


End file.
